Manny's family
WARNING: The following has spoilers for the Ice Age films. ''' '''Manfred's family are shown only in Ice Age in the cave paintings. The family made no physical appearance but rather showed up on a cave painting. On the painting, Manfred and his mate and child were confronted by a gang of Neanderthals or Cro-Magnons, who succeeded in killing them both, leaving Manfred distraught. His family's death also explains why Manny himself was so grouchy throughout the film. It was even hinted when Sid was trying to make small talk with him asking him if he had a family and Manny giving him an angry look as well as ignoring him. Manfred was later told by Sid that he must let go of his past so that he could have a future. Was Manny the Father or the Baby Mammoth? Some fans believed that Manny was the baby mammoth in the painting and that the two other mammoths were his parents but this is not the case. And while losing any ''family member is traumatizing, there are some facts, some obvious, others not so obvious, that do point out that Manny's mate and child were killed and ''not ''his parents and they are: 1) When Sid started talking to Manny about his past experiences with females, Manny seems upset to hear this, saying, "If you find a mate in life, you should be loyal...in your case ''grateful." Although Manny said this as a funny sarcastic remark, he could have been telling Sid that he should be happy to have a mate because he knows how it feels to lose one himself. Also Manny being reluctant on more than one occasion to pair up with Ellie in the second Ice Age film is also proving this quote some justice, showing that Manny was trying to be loyal to his old mate. 2) The scripts of the movie explain that the other Mammoths in the cave paintings were Manny's mate and child and not ''his parents. 3) When Sid first sees the paintings, he points saying, "Hey, hey, that fat one looks just like you." Sid was also right, the adult male Mammoth in the painting ''did look like Manny and the animators probably figured that the audience would figure out that it was Manny. Whereas the baby Mammoth in the painting did not ''look like Manny considering that its fur color was different and it had no tusks whereas the adult Mammoth had tusks and was close to the same color as Manny. During this same scene, Sid continues, saying, "Aww, and he has a family, and he's happy. Look he's playing with his ''kid. See Manny, that's your problem. That's what Mammoths are supposed to do. Find a "shemoth," have little ''baby ''Mammoths..." Then Diego tells Sid to shut up, making him realize he was actually talking about Manny's family. Also if the writers of this film wanted the audience to believe that Manny was the baby Mammoth, they probably would have had Sid say that the baby Mammoth probably looked like Manny when he was a kid but instead he suggests the adult one looks like him. 4) Logically it makes more sense that Manny was the adult Mammoth in the cave painting sequence. Although an adult male Mammoth has more meat and fur, they probably are harder to kill or even catch in comparison to a female or a baby (this makes sense considering modern day Bull Elephants are harder to catch because they're more powerful and more likely to charge than a Cow or Calf). In fact, the baby was the most vulnerable of the group. Another hint that suggested that Manny's baby died is the shot of the mother trying to protect the baby by wrapping it around her trunk. If the baby was being held during the incident, it would have been harder for it to escape. Also the two Mammoths were also trapped in a corner. Later on in the film, Soto explains that this is the only way to kill a Mammoth. This means both Mammoths had no where to to go (they could not move backwards, they could not move forwards because of the humans with the spears, and there were even humans above them stoning them). The male Mammoth on the other hand, had more space to escape. 5) The cave painting sequence focused more on the adult male Mammoth than it did with the child, suggesting that he was Manny. If the people making the movie wanted to show that Manny was the baby, the sequence would have focused more on the baby, probably even showing the baby escaping and looking back to see its parents get killed. However the baby Mammoth was not shown escaping. The shots focused on the adult Mammoth trying to fight away the humans in time but being too late to save his family (which is revealed in the close-up shot of the adult Mammoth watching the other two die). 6) Manny's relationship with Roshan, the human baby, appeared to be a bit father-son like, in comparison to the other characters, particularly Sid. Perhaps this suggests that he was growing attached to baby despite what the humans did to him in the past because the baby reminded him of his own baby. This was later shown after the flashback was over; Manny touches the picture of the baby Mammoth and then notices Roshan touching the painting as well and suddenly cries. 7) Manny is willing to give Roshan back to his human family despite knowing that he might become a hunter when he grows up (he didn't even turn back or try to fight when Roshan's father tried to spear him). Perhaps he did this because he understands Roshan's father's sadness because he knows the pain of losing a mate and baby himself. 8) In the second movie, Manny and his friends observe Ellie from a distance. Diego then suggests to Manny that she would be a good mate for him because she's sweet and then asks, "So what's holding you back?" Manfred then mournfully says, "My family." If Manny lost his parents instead of his mate and child, he probably would not have been so reluctant to get together with Ellie. Shortly after the scene mentioned, Sid says, "You can have it again, you know," implying that Manny can have another mate and child (even to the point of calling Manny selfish for letting his species go). 9) It's revealed that Manny's first baby was his son named Lou. The name of his first mate is still unknown. Category:Deceased characters Category:Families Category:Mammoths Category:Characters mentioned but unseen Category:Mammals Category:Characters